In the last 12 years, the number of infants under six months of age globally who are exclusively breastfed has increased by more than 10%. This means 48% of infants worldwide now benefit from this healthy start in life. It translates to hundreds of thousands of babies whose lives have been saved by breastfeeding. While this significant leap brings us…

First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, and parliamentarians from across the political spectrum on Monday signed a landmark joint declaration on gender, breastfeeding, and nutrition in Pakistan, pledging coordinated action to protect child health, empower mothers, and remove systemic barriers to optimal breastfeeding practices. The declaration, endorsed during the Parliamentarian Advocacy Forum on the…

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah inaugurated a state-of-the-art Mother and Child Healthcare Centre at Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS), marking a major milestone in maternal and child health services and celebrating the enduring friendship between Pakistan and Japan. The 128-bed centre, built with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), increases LUMHS’s total capacity…

Dr. Usman Waheed, IMDC, Islamabad Biomedical literature underpins scientific advancement by disseminating critical research to clinicians, academics, and policymakers. However, the integrity of this literature hinges on ethical authorship practices. Authorship is more than a name on a paper, it signifies intellectual ownership and accountability. Yet, under growing academic pressures, unethical authorship practices have emerged, compromising the credibility of research.…

In a significant step toward advancing public health and nutrition in Pakistan, UNICEF and the Health Services Academy (HSA) have formally joined hands to ensure that children, adolescents, and women across the country can access the diets, care, and essential services they need to survive and thrive. The collaboration was officially cemented through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by…

On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day 2025, leading experts in transfusion medicine, virology, and public health gathered in Islamabad for a national seminar titled “Screening of Blood for Transfusion Transmissible Infections (TTIs).” The event was jointly organized by the Islamabad Medical Technology College (IMTC), Regional Blood Centre (RBC) Mirpur, International Society of Blood Transfusion, and BBMT-Pakistan. The seminar brought together a…

World Blood Donor Day (WBDD), observed each year on 14 June, serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their lifesaving gifts of blood. A blood service that gives patients access to safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantity is a key component of an effective health…

Over 100 MBBS graduates were conferred degrees at the 10th Convocation of the Liaquat National Medical College (LNMC) held recently at the Auditorium, Convention Centre, Liaquat National Hospital. Registrar Jinnah Sindh Medical University Dr. Mohammad Azam khan administered the oath to the graduates and Vice Chancellor Jinnah Sindh Medical University Prof. Amjad Siraj Memon conferred the degrees. In his address,…

A five-day national training workshop on Vaccine and Supply Chain Data Management was inaugurated today at Ramada Hotel, Karachi. The initiative, organized by the Federal Directorate of Immunisation (FDI) with technical support from UNICEF, aims to enhance the capacity of key personnel involved in vaccine logistics and data systems at the national, provincial, and district levels. The Project Director EPI…

A delegation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Polio Branch, led by Dr. Richard Franka, met with Commissioner Karachi, Syed Hasan Naqvi, to discuss sustained efforts in the fight against polio.   During the meeting, the epidemiological significance of Karachi as a core polio reservoir was underscored owing to its large, heterogeneous population and continuous population…